Home Education Adventures

Learning every day

We were not going to learn anything, everyone was allowed to chill in whatever way they wished, this was our ruling for the day.

You see we were very tired teds after a busy fun filled weekend camping with our cubs. I figured a day off was needed and of no detriment to their education. You see they had already learned so much during the weekend. They had learned how to bandage arms and make a flag pole from bits of sticks found in the woods, how to light a fire and how to work in a team, we learned new camp fire songs and we learned how noisy 100 children in a small dining hall can be!!

We didn’t need to learn anything on Monday right? We could chill out and play on tablets all day if that’s what they wanted to do, no learning needed. The boys however forgot not to learn. The chose to play Minecraft and suddenly all this learning was happening.

First Panda was telling me how he eats as a vegetarian whilst playing Minecraft as well as in real life, he told me all about the food he could eat, we talked about the ingredients needed to make things such as cakes and bread. Then he started in the maths, he was telling me that he grew his wheat in rows of 24 because bread needs 3 and that way he can make 8 loaves at a time.

The told me about the different trees that grew and how they were different from each other and how they were like the real life trees. We discussed which mineral was which when Tiger wanted to make a pick ax and Panda told him to use diamond as that was the hardest substance. He was also telling me all about how he had built a kiln so that he could smelt the metal ore in order to make things. Not to mention heating the sand to make glass.

And non of that even begins to touch on the design aspect of their worlds, they have built houses, farms and villages. They build swimming pools and play areas. The only limitations is their own imaginations.

I know the argument for screen time lingers on but I have to say with the amount of learning that comes from it I don’t see it as a bad thing. The other apps they have also encourage maths and problem solving, English and even touched on genetics. The world of apps really is a world of learning.